Newsies' Jeremy Jordan on His New Broadway Role

When Newsies hit the big screen in 1992 with Christian Bale in the lead role of Jack Kelly, it wasn't a stop-the-presses event. But eventually, the musical, based on New York City's 1899 newsboy strike, became a cult classic. And when Disney decided to bring the film to the Great White Way this season, adding new songs and a romantic story line, they found the perfect Jack in Jeremy Jordan, a die-hard fan himself. "I was part of the generation of kids who idolized the movie," says the Texas native. "I loved the live-action aspect. It was very empowering as a kid to see something like that." Jeremy, who most recently appeared alongside Keke Palmer in Joyful Noise and starred in Broadway's Bonnie & Clyde, has always loved music. "My mom discovered me singing in the shower to Céline Dion and Mariah Carey," he says, laughing. "I was a little boy soprano, so I'd sing all the pop songs." After attending Ithaca College, Jeremy played Tony in the Broadway revival of West Side Story (the first show he remembers seeing as a child). Now he's happy to see a new generation of Newsies fans carrying the banner: Its run at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse had audiences filled with teens, some who had never heard of the original. "It's like you have a game you really love," he says. "You finish it and you're like, 'Aw, I want more.' So they give you more levels, and you're like, 'Oh, yes! This is so exciting!'"